Va. pastor charged with child abuse

Prince William County police have arrested a former youth pastor on charges that he carried on a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl in his church group.

Jason Bolton, 32, of Dumfries, began a close friendship with the girl in September 2007, police said. By early 2010, the relationship had become romantic.

Bolton, a married man with two sons and a daughter, began as a youth pastor at Potomac Crest Baptist Church in 2007. He resigned in May after the sexual allegations came to light.

In a first person profile on the church's Web site, Bolton says he was called by Jesus Christ to serve at the church after ministering to students at the University of Delaware, where he studied art in the late 1990s.

“I am not perfect and I make mistakes every day,” Bolton says in the profile that has since been removed. “My hope is that through my life I can help show youth that Jesus Loves them and that He wants them so much that He died for them.”

Bolton was being held on a $3,000 secured bond on a charge of sodomy. A court date has not been set, officials said.

Another clergy embroiled in a sex-scandal, anyone surprised? Pedophiles have a proclivity for the clergy because they know they'll have access to minors. Not to mention most parents who are "religious" dutifully let their children spend unsupervised time with clergy.

The unfortunate part of these stories is this is all that makes the news. When anyone(clergy or non-clergy) does the right thing it isn't newsworthy.
Growing up I attended Catholic school. One of the priests was our basketball coach(albeit not a great coach). Some of the kids didn't have transportation for practices and games but wanted to play.
He loaded anyone needing transportation into his station wagon and made sure they could play. Just because he wanted to help the kids...nothing inappropriate or newsworthy.
It's just sad the only news that sells is bad news. These guys are the exception and not the rule.

People what this man did is very wrong, however this doesn't give anybody the right to stereo type christians and say we are the biggest hypocrites on the planet. I am a devoted christian , born a christion now 28, nothing will influence or change what I beleive.

Although this relationship was adulterous and unethical, it is only big news because he is a pastor. Sodomy and underage relationships are not always caught and rarely publicized so much. The "victim" is 17 and arguably old enough to consent (as she says she did). Unfortunately clergy are not above making mistakes as much as we may hope they are. We all sin and fall short. Still there are earthly consequences to our actions. This man does deserve to be punished. Bolton will never pastor again but he should be able to move on with his life some day. His family deserves a chance with him if that is their choice. Bolton's quote is still true that Jesus loves the youth he pastored and through this ordeal hopefully they will still be able to see God's love and forgiveness. "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone."

People what this man did is very wrong, however this doesn't give anybody the right to stereo type christians and say we are the biggest hypocrites on the planet. @Ritabonita

"I am a devoted christian , born a christion now 28, nothing will influence or change what I beleive."

Ignore checkered1. He never has anything intelligent to say. He trolls these threads and posts insulting broadbrushed remarks to get a rise out of people; if this was a discussion about an article on crime in SE DC or PG County, he would be smirking about "black savages" and "welfare queens".

There's an old saying: "The church is full of hypocrites - and there's always room for one more."

Anyone who things Christians are perfect people have missed the point. We KNOW we're not perfect. The goal is that we're supposed to be sorry, make amends and never ever give up on our efforts to be the people we know we're SUPPOSED to be.

But anyone on this board who things they're pure as the driven snow has serious delusions about themselves.

To the extent that we all believe ourselves good people, yet often commit bad acts, we are all also hypocrites. These stories attract our derision because, face it, we like to see people who set themselves up as moral authorities fall short. It makes us feel better about ourselves, because we fall short, too. But hey, at least we aren't teaching a Sunday school class while molesting the kids!

there's always the possiblity the pastors wife wants sole custody in a divorce and this sex charge would guarentee that.
Or the victim was trying to act cool and bragged to her friends about something happening when it didn't and one of them told someone in charge etc.

or maybe he did what he is charged with.

In any case, he deserves his day in court just as any of us would want in a similar situation.

It's so disgusting that pedophiles have decided to insult the integrity of the church to satisfy their needs. She wasn't your typical victim at age 17, but wrong is wrong. This guy will carry the label sexual deviant for the rest of his life. I'm sure he's ruined his family.

The question is how this came to light...I don't think he offered it up, perhaps the girl told or his wife found out. But he wasn't spirit-filled enough to tell it; let's not forget he is married, so inaddition to having sex with a minor, which is a crime, he committed adultry. double wammy. A weak fool for sure.

His wife and children are victims in this situation. I know him personally and could post so much, but I won't out of respect for his father and brother. He makes me so angry and so disappointed. I never in a million years would have thought...